PHILADELPHIA — When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took the extraordinary step of allowing a group of substitutes to play the entire fourth quarter and overtime in a 101-100 loss at Dallas on Jan. 29, the rest of the NBA took notice.

In retrospect, there was a method to Popovich's apparent madness.

“It was huge for our young guys,” point guard Tony Parker said of a game in which the Spurs' reserves rallied from 20 points down. “They just played well. They came back. The young guys kept it rolling.

“I think down the road, that game is going to help us.”

Still improving as a road team, the Spurs hope to tap that reservoir of confidence as they continue on a nine-game rodeo trip that matches the longest in club history. Game No. 2 comes tonight in Philadelphia against an 18-7, Atlantic Division-leading 76ers club Parker calls “the surprise of the NBA.”

After opening the season 0-5 on the road, the Spurs have won four of their past six away games, in part because their younger rotation players have grown up.

Heading to Philadelphia, the Spurs are 4-8 on the road, coming off a grind-it-out 89-84 win at Memphis that opened the rodeo trip Monday.

It is a process players say began in Dallas. Rarely has a team gleaned so much self-assurance from defeat.

“It gave us confidence,” said third-year forward Danny Green, who came within 0.1 seconds of beating the Mavericks on a buzzer-beater in regulation. “When we have that (young) group on the floor, we have a lot of chemistry together. We know we can get out and run.”

If the Spurs do wind up blossoming into a salty road team, players will have no trouble pinpointing the turning point.

Popovich views his curious use of substitutes in Dallas as an experiment that might pay dividends long term.

Throwing his young players into the fire, “gives me a pretty good idea of what they do naturally,” Popovich said.

“It's almost like their most innocent self comes out,” Popovich said. “You see who they really are.”

Traveling Ford: For the first time since tearing his left hamstring Jan. 10 in Milwaukee, backup point guard T.J. Ford is on the road with the Spurs.

The 28-year-old former University of Texas star reported no setbacks so far in his rehabilitation but could shed little light on a timetable to return.

“It's feeling a lot better,” Ford said. “It's just up to the doctors and what they say.”

Popovich said Ford is still probably a couple weeks from making his comeback.